Darren Herman

I haven’t been to the movies since February (seriously) but read an interesting article on AdvertisingAge.com about in-theater advertising. 2007’s releases included “Spider-Man,” “Shrek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” which have contributed to an 8% increase in ticket sales. The Cinema Ad Council recently reported that ad spending in movie theaters grew 15% in 2006 to $455.6M. Not bad for a burgeoning industry.

In-theatre advertising technology has allowed advertisers to target specific audiences based on location and movie type. Top advertising categories include telecommunications, broadcast and cable networks, video-game hardware and software, and consumer electronics.  Just like video games and Internet have ad-serving technologies, it seems theaters do as well.

Some research published by Screenvision:

• Moviegoers who saw in-theatre advertising are 44% more likely to remember the ad than consumers who saw it on TV. (Source: TNS November 2004)
• 91% of Screenvision moviegoers remember cinema ads unaided up to one week after going to the movies. (Source: TNS November 2004)
• Cinema advertising has longevity. Up to one week after seeing a commercial at the movies, nearly half of consumers could name the specific brands they saw advertised. (Source: TNS November 2004)
• Moviegoers are nearly 70% more likely to be motivated by ads, meaning they find the ad relevant to them and would like to see it again. (Source: TNS November 2004)
• Screenvision consumers are 50% more likely to express increased interest in brand/products advertised than TV viewers. (Source: TNS November 2004)
• After three or more exposures to the same ad, moviegoers’ unaided recall jumps to 60%. (Source: Lieberman December 2004)
• Moviegoers exposed to advertiser messaging three or more times are +30% more likely to state the specific brand advertised, unprompted, than those exposed once in-theatre. (Source: Lieberman December 2004)

When people come to me and ask me for career advice as to which industry to follow, I always tell them to go find a trend and jump into the industry.  Make sure it’s not a “fad” or you’ll have succcess for a short while.  The in-theater industry is nascent and taking off, while still doing some real revenue.  If you’re looking for a career in ad-sales, joining a company like Screenvision may be mutually fruitful as they are a leading player in this industry.  Just a bit of advice